Allen Iverson stories never get old. Although pundits often leave him out while discussing the greats of the game, hoop fans know that The Answer was a real problem for teams in the league. Recently, Gilbert Arenas, who has had the opportunity to play against AI recalled his experience.
Arenas was on a live stream on Christmas where he was asked by a fan about his encounters with Iverson. The NBA veteran said that although he was hurt when he faced the Detroit Pistons‘ Iverson, he did remember facing the 11x NBA All-Star on other occasions.
Arenas on Iverson’s game
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Arenas has slowly taken up the role of a streamer as it allows him to connect with his fans. During his recent stream, a fan asked the NBA veteran about Iverson. He said, “To be honest. I was hurt then. I wasn’t me at the time so I wasn’t paying attention. That Philadelphia[76ers] Iverson was a moth*****kin headache. That Denver[Nuggets] Iverson was a moth*****kin problem. Iverson himself…was an issue on the court.” Arenas went on to sing more praises of the 48-year-old and what he did while playing in the league.
Arenas said, “He was one of those dudes that just played that game…he played with all of his heart. He was just a feisty dude who played with all of his heart.”
The two NBA veterans went against one another on the court 12 times during their careers. In that time, Iverson has the lead on Arenas with a record of 7-5. Interestingly they never met during a playoff series, so we can’t dissect their game while playing the highest-quality basketball. Regardless, Iverson’s stats surpass Arenas’ when we compare the 12 games they played against one another.
Iverson averages 27.7 points with 4.0 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 2.8 steals. Compared to these numbers, Arenas could only manage 20.8, 2.9, 6.3, and 2.0 respectively. Their career highs against one another also differ by a big margin where Iverson leads the chart with 47 points to Arenas’ 36 and AI’s 15 assists to his 14.
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Despite their competition, Arenas always had good things to say about the 11x NBA All-Star. Recently when the “load management” in the league was being glorified, the 41-year-old blasted the league for double standards. He said that the league should apologize to AI for sabotaging his career over missed practice sessions, while they’re now allowing players to miss games over any minor excuse.
He has also complimented Iverson’s game on multiple occasions, once famously remarking, he’d “…rather guard Kobe.”
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How do you feel about Gilbert Arenas’ opinion on Allen Iverson?
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